Unfair but balanced commentary on tax and budget policy, contemporary U.S. politics and culture, and whatever else happens to come up

Thursday, August 22, 2013

The glass is 1/3 (or perhaps even 40 percent) full

Today was kind of a landmark for me. Just under 4 months since I tore the ACL in my right knee, I hit tennis balls for an hour. I am at a professional conference in my field that is being held at a tennis resort, and my physical therapist cleared me to hit balls with a pro who could hit consistently right back to me if I was able to sustain my half of the rally.

I hit for an hour, on an outdoor hartru court on a beautiful warm but not hot day, wearing a bulky, gigantic robo tennis brace on my knee. I then iced afterwards, and am taking ibuprofen.

The good news is that I survived, and am not even especially sore at the moment. My form of course was awful, though I did hit some good balls with decent racquet speed. The bad news is that I really can't move much at all, especially if I am at all surprised by the placement of the ball that's coming towards me. No moving more than a couple of steps even if I anticipate it correctly, and absolutely no changing directions.

So I am very, very far from playing again, and for that matter also undecided about whether or not to have ACL surgery. (I would do it in early December, after finishing my fall classes at NYU.) But I suppose it is something to be able to hit at all. I haven't completely forgotten my strokes, and when I'm in position I can hit it pretty well despite the knee. But then again, back in the day my game was always based more on movement, court coverage, determination, and strategy than perfect form. Hard to see that all coming back, at least absent successful surgery followed by six months to a year of hard work and then permanent maintenance.

So the glass is leaning full, not empty, even if I'm feeling sour enough to call it less than half so.

About Me

I am the Wayne Perry Professor of Taxation at New York University Law School. My research mainly emphasizes tax policy, government transfers, budgetary measures, social insurance, and entitlements reform. My most recent books are (1) Decoding the U.S. Corporate Tax (2009) and (2) Taxes, Spending, and the U.S. Government's March Toward Bankruptcy (2006). My other books include Do Deficits Matter? (1997), When Rules Change: An Economic and Political Analysis of Transition Relief and Retroactivity (2000), Making Sense of Social Security Reform (2000), Who Should Pay for Medicare? (2004), Taxes, Spending, and the U.S. Government's March Towards Bankruptcy (2006), Decoding the U.S. Corporate Tax (2009), and Fixing the U.S. International Tax Rules (forthcoming). I am also the author of a novel, Getting It. I am married with two children (boys aged 24 and 21) as well as three cats. For my wife Pat's quilting blog, see Patwig’s Blog.